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Alphonse Elric
Alphonse Elric is the main deuteragonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. The younger brother of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, Al is also a victim of the failed Human Transmutation experiment that lost Ed his left leg. Having had his entire physical being taken away from him in the aftermath of the tragedy, Alphonse exists solely as a soul alchemically bound to a large suit of steel armor. Now, Al travels with his brother in search of a legendary Philosopher's Stone, an item with the power to restore their bodies to normal. Physical Appearance In his gunmetal-colored steel armor body, Alphonse stands out as one of the tallest characters in the Fullmetal Alchemist series, inching out such stalwart man-mountains as Captain Buccaneer and Major Armstrong while absolutely dwarfing his older brother, who only comes up to his elbow in the beginning of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. As such, a running gag in the series is that he is frequently mistaken for being the famous "Fullmetal Alchemist" in place of his brother - the rightful bearer of the title. The helmet that comprises Al's face is adorned with a large, conical horn in the middle of the forehead, has a pair of parallel, horizontal vents beneath each half-moon eye hole and a fang motif just above the protruding chin. The top of the helmet also sports a ribbon of short white hair that hangs above his head with a blazing design to it. The trunk of the body also consists of a removable breastplate with a protruding, triangular shelf on the chest just below the throat guard, a high collar that extends out of the back and surrounds the rear and sides of the neck, and a large, circular leather patch on either side of the abdomen. A breech cloth covers the groin and painted on the left shoulder is a red Flamel, signifying Alphonse's tutelage under the master alchemist, Izumi Curtis. Al's armor body also appears to have a triple spike motif, as each shoulder is adorned with a trio of large conical spikes lined in a row and each elbow, knee and foot carries small, spiky protrusions as well. Al also appears to have a white band around his right leg which holds up a small weapons holster. Inside the empty armor is a curtain of chain mail for the protection of its former wearer as well as a small alchemical rune drawn in Edward's blood, which binds Al's soul to the metal by way of the iron in both. Al's "Blood Seal" is unique - likely of Edward's own design - and denotes a small flame locked in place by multiple intersecting polygons. Human Form Personality In many ways, Alphonse's calm, serene and passive disposition exists as a foil to his older brother's more abrasive personality. Al is kindhearted, notably compassionate and patient almost to a fault, acting often out of protective selflessness for his loved ones, new friends and sometimes toward even his enemies (Scar is a particular example). Having had his psychological growth stunted at the age of ten due to loss of his physical body, Alphonse retains a childlike purity in the face of all his encountered horrors; however, despite his age, he has always displayed a significantly higher level of maturity than Edward. Though Al is as passionate as his brother, he has remarked that his anger takes longer to spark and jokes that he is always beaten to the punch by Edward's outbursts. On the other hand, Al's heart does contain some darkness born from the tragedies of his life. Plagued with insecurities about his own uncertain existence inside a suit of armor, Al craves the human warmth of his former life in desperate silence, fears that he will never again know closeness, and is sometimes overwhelmed by the suspicion that he himself is not human. It is also revealed that Alphonse carries the added burden of blaming himself for the failure of his mother's resurrection and the subsequent loss of his brother's limbs. As Edward detests his diminutive stature, Alphonse dislikes being reminded of his large size and often becomes melancholy when it inhibits or calls undue attention to him, lamenting that it was not his choice to become so big. As such, he displays a great deal of pleasure when others treat him as a child instead of the hulking brutish adult persona that his appearance gives off. Possibly as part of his desire for warmth and love, Alphonse displays a great affection for small cats and has developed a bad habit of picking up stray kittens that he finds over the course of his travels, hiding them inside his armor cavity from his disapproving brother. On a more subtle level, Alphonse appears to have a great fondness for women as well. Particularly sensitive himself, Alphonse has a gift for complimentary and inspirational speech that surpasses even that of his brother's. While this does not negate the effect his armor body has on ordinary girls, it does allow him to leave an impression on the few women with whom he regularly associates such as May Chang, Riza Hawkeye, Lan Fan and Sheska. When his skills are necessary, Alphonse is often paired up with female comrades in situations where Edward is not present. In many of the Fullmetal Alchemist omake, Arakawa makes Al's primary motivation finding a girlfriend. Aside from the warmth of physical contact, what Alphonse misses most about having a human body seems to be delicious food. He keeps a journal of all the various foods he will eat upon returning to his body in order to keep his spirits up (a practice encouraged by Edward) and has stated that his fondest wish is to have some of Winry's apple pie. Synopsis Main Article: Alphonse Elric/Synopsis Abilities Physical Prowess: Having apprenticed under the master alchemist Izumi Curtis, Alphonse has been trained to condition his body through regular workouts and sparring as part of her philosophy, "to train the spirit, first train the body." Additionally, his armor body has several combat advantages including - strengthened offense and defense, imperviability to bullets, inexhaustible stamina, invulnerability against extreme temperatures and an exemption from needing to breathe, eat or sleep. Unfortunately, these are all tempered by the fact that he cannot take any actions that might cause the Blood Seal inside his armor to be damaged so as to prevent his soul from becoming detached. *'Immense Stength': In his armored body, Alphonse possesses an immense amout of physical strength, able to lift heavy objects to either throw at his enemies, or push them out of the way for his allies, and even use his strength to enhance his blows against more powerful enemies. *'Invulnerability': *'Immense Stamina': *'Enhanced Speed': *'Enhanced Agility': Master Martial Artist: After training under Izumi's tutelage, Al has become a particularly competent hand-to-hand fighter, able to hold his own against armed opponents and even skilled martial arts practitioners, as well as powerful homunculi like Gluttony and Pride. In fact, Edward had stated that Alphonse is an even more skilled combatant than himself and notes that he has never beaten him in a fight, even since before Izumi's training. Alchemical Prodigy: Like his brother, Alphonse also wields a genius-level intellect and prodigious proficiency in the studies of biology, chemistry and alchemy. While Edward is apparently the greater mind of the two, Alphonse does not trail far behind and has been able to match wits with his brother since the days they learned alchemy together as children. Alphonse, skilled with words, is capable of solving complex alchemical puzzles and mysteries and has displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of his craft, but seems to lack Edward's amazing sense of focus, instead developing the social skills in which his older brother is so sorely deficient. Alchemy Object Transmutation: Alphonse is a particularly competent alchemist who transmutes quickly, cleanly and with remarkable attention to detail in the style of his master, Izumi. In combat, he uses alchemy to augment his offensive and defensive capabilities, crafting weapons for melee strikes and altering his surroundings to gain the advantage in the same way as his brother - transmuting columns, battering rams, golem-based fists and traps for his enemies, albeit without the gaudy touches that Edward usually gives his works. While in general his alchemy is more conventional than that of Edward (who often uses it in unusual forms to outsmart his opponents), he has displayed greater creativity when the situation called for it. For instance, when equipped with a Philosopher's Stone, he was able to use his alchemy in unexpected ways, like transmuting flash bangs, flexible swords and conical earth-prisons to surprise his opponents. However, Alphonse's own alchemy is unique in several ways that make themselves apparent over the course of the two diverging story lines. From the beginning of the story, it becomes clear that - unlike most alchemists - Al does not require direct physical contact with the transmutation arrays he draws in order to manipulate matter; merely by standing over a circle and applying concentration (sometimes displayed as his crossing one hand flat over the other with both palms facing down), he can manipulate matter without touching it - a feat that has yet to be displayed by any other human alchemist without an alchemical amplifier. This may be due to the nature of his existence as a soul inside a suit of armor, he may be able to protrude the influence of his soul over larger distances, unlike ordinary humans whose souls are confined within their skin. Later on, Alphonse gains the additional ability to transmute without having to draw a transmutation circle at all. Having passed through the Gate as a result of the failed Human Transmutation, the ability had remained dormant inside his soul so long as his more tragic memories of the event stayed repressed. But after he regains his memories, Alphonse discovers that the skill he had watched his brother and master perform so many times now belonged to him as well and puts it into practice for the first time. Relationships Family *Van Hohenheim (Father, Deceased) *Trisha Elric (Mother, Deceased) *Edward Elric (Older Brother) Friends/Allies *Winry Rockbell (Childhood best friend, acts like an older sister to him) *State Military *May Chang Rivals * Enemies *The Homunculi **Pride *Major Solf J. Kimblee Theme Songs * Background in Other Media Main Article: Alphonse Elric/Background in Other Media Trivia * Quotes * Battles & Events Battles * Events * References Site Navigation Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Human Category:Amestrian Category:Alchemist Category:Elric-Hohenheim Family Category:Team Fullmetal Category:Captain-class Fighters Category:Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Series Characters Category:Most Powerful Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Human Sacrifice Category:Allied Forces